Always have a walking stick!

[taws6]

I only recently started using a hazle stick as a walking aid, and never thought I needed one.(Not that I have trouble walking).
Well, I am amazed at how many uses I have found for it already, and can see many more possable oppertunaties too.
If you dont believe me, try it for yourself.

I'm not sure what length stick I am happy with yet, I've tried a couple of sizes, and currently prefer a, er nipple height one, with a small fork on the end.
What is the most suitable height generally?

I have worried that if I slip over I may inpale myself, but guess this is highly unlikely?

It unfortunately does not stop me occasionally twisting my ankle on uneven ground, neither does my high length walking boots. (Lots of rough terain in my area).

Just thought I should share my new fond walking aid happyness!

 

[jojo]

Have you seen the stick thread on here? Rough terrain?? Where are you in Anglia? Where I live, it's flat as a pancake!! They are really useful thing for a simple stick. We always try to have things that can do at least two things but a simple stick can do dozens!

 

[taws6]

Thanks for the link jojo and your reply, a interesting read.

I live near Sudbury in Suffolk.
By rough terain I mean along the edges of ploughed fields with rabbit holes etc.

I like the idea of a staff, I just wonder if 2.5" thick would be to thick and heavy. I will try it and see for myself which I prefer.

 

[Chinkapin]

In regard to your question about how long a stick should be, first let me state that this is a very personal preference decision. Having said that, I feel that the proper length is for the staff to come to just under your ear lobe. I never read this anywhere. After making many sticks, and cutting them rather long and then trying them out, and cutting off an inch at a time until I was satisfied, I discovered that under the ear lobe was right for me. Also, this is high enough that you won't impale your self.

 

[xylaria]

I often use a normal walking stick, I find it is very helpful picking apples and such. Walking about the house on tip toes and bouncing is good for weak ankles.

 

[lofthouse31]

The stick seems to be a global link for most bushcraft/hunter gatherer activity, from an aid to walking, knocking fruit from trees, dealing withdigging for roots and insects to fending off unwanted advances of both beasts and super models.
Its the best bit of kit going in my book, slim as it is.
Being free and needing little work makes it all the more worthy.
It has got to be in the running for mans first tool ever used, and the fact its still used today shows how little apart from those times we are.
On some days when nobody is watching i like to pretend im Gandalf with mine aswell, but i best not go any further than that.

 

[Bogman10]

Hi,
I find the walking stick is the only way to go when wadding swift mountain streams, TRIPODING gives you so much more stablity. Someone mentioned "fending off Super Models" as a good use, I prefer just to let then have at me.( But only the Female 's of the species )

 

[Hoodoo]

In the past couple years or so, I've become a cane convert. I just find it much more comfortable to hike with and more natural to use. Having my arm bent for extended periods of time no longer appeals to me. Being able to have my arm more extended, as well as being able to exert more downward force (for support) also appeals to me. My canes tend to be a bit longer than "normal" though, to accomodate rough terrain. I also find them handy for moving plants out of the way so I can find mushrooms.

 

[Minotaur]

Raises an interesting question...

What is the right length for a stick?

A Jo is 4' long, and its bigger cousin, a Bo, is 6', so somewhere between there seems to make sense. I was always taught that a scout stave should reach your nose.

I like the idea of the survival staff, and might rip that off, but for something more like a scout stave, so thicker for a start, and metal.

 

[treadlightly]

I use a stick cut to the right length to serve as a central pole for my Golite Shangri La. That means I don't have the weight of the supplied pole to carry and it comes in handy for lots of other things too.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Wouldn't be without one although for years the message didn't register. It was only when the ash pole pictured below finally broke, when subjecting it to far too much side pressure whilst crossing a fence, that I realised just how much I have come to rely on one, and for crossing even mildly undulating terrain. In fact I would say that it's use to steady the odd standing or kneeling shot is no longer the primary reason for carrying one although when tackling squirrel; the reason I first cut such a long stick, it really does give one the edge on those high shots.

I've now lost count of the times this stick has enabled me to make it up steep banks that I would otherwise need to clamber across on all fours. I really don't think it is an exaggeration to say it has become and extension of my left arm and to be without one in the woods is to be part naked.

On Christmas morning I somewhat appropriately found a couple or perfectly proportioned replacements in Holly and that is testimony to that old adage that the only right time to cut a stick is when you see it and before someone else dose! Sadly they are too heavy to be deployed until fully seasoned. Until then one of the ever-abundant hazel wands will have to do.

K

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d46/klenchblaize/SN200155.jpg

 

[jojo]

I am still playing as to what is the best length for mine. I'll have to make a cane as opposed to a hiking staff. I agree with Hoodoo, it gets tiring to have your arm bent all the time. Also, I suppose, a cane is less likely to attract attention than a 6 foot staff, as so many people use them in daily life. So like everything else, maybe I need more than one for different uses! A good excuse to play with wood

Lovely work, Hoodoo

 

[Hoodoo]

Lovely work, Hoodoo

I can't take credit for making any of those canes. They were made by a guy in northern Michigan who always sells them at the annual mushroom festival in Mesick Michigan. The rustic one was made from sassafrass root.

 

[saddle_tramp]

i been a bit poorly last couple of years, and my doctor recommended i use a stick, and sorted me out the standard bent chestnut affair with a big rubber grommit. . . useful as it was, i hated the thing, so looked high and low for something growing natural, and proper lucked out finding a perfectly straight piece of blackthorn, all but 5ft long and a perfect thumbstick top. it taken a while to season, but i love my knobbly stick now. and its got so many uses other than as a walking aid,

 

[joejoe]

quite agree always carry a stick

 

[joejoe]

try his for size

 

[taws6]

Hmmm, I'm finding the most usefull is staff length, and the most comfortable is walking stick length. I guess I need two!!

 

[dboles]

I use em sometimes.Call them 3rd leg tools
Dan'l